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Cryptocurrency organizations have encountered account terminations and rejections of banking services for years classified as de-risking. Numerous individuals in the crypto sector assert that the debanking reflects a policy-driven initiative aimed at stifling digital assets, dubbed “Operation ChokePoint 2.0.”
After President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto team secured the election, many assumed the era of debanking had concluded. His campaign dialogue and initial policy actions indicated a more accommodating atmosphere for digital assets, prompting some to anticipate that banks would relax restrictions on crypto clients.
Nonetheless, recent occurrences imply that the practice persists firmly. Last week, Andreessen Horowitz partner Alex Rampell cautioned that major banks are tightening their grip on fintech and crypto applications in “Operation ChokePoint 3.0,” by increasing fees to access account information or transfer funds to platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood.
Reflecting these worries, Alex Konanykhin, CEO of Unicoin, informed Cointelegraph that US banks are still shutting down accounts for crypto companies without justification, despite mounting political pressure to cease the practice.
“We know about it directly, as Unicoin and its subsidiaries have faced debanking, without reasons, by several banks,” Konanykhin remarked. He enumerated five banks that have severed ties with Unicoin or its subsidiaries over recent years, including Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, City National Bank of Florida, and TD Bank.
A representative for Chase opted not to comment on a specific assertion. “We endorse the Trump Administration’s initiative to eliminate unnecessary regulatory obstacles and modernize anti-money laundering regulations,” they noted.
Cointelegraph reached out to all these banks for feedback.
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Widescale “nationwide operation”
Konanykhin asserted that Unicoin was debanked by four banks just this year, which “indicates that ChokePoint is a widespread nationwide effort.” Unicoin is a publicly traded corporation with six years of audited financial statements and over 4,000 shareholders.
Konanykhin added that the debanking campaign has generated “extremely disruptive and damaging” circumstances for crypto businesses in the US, robbing them of access to essential financial services and “stifling the American crypto sector.”
On Thursday, Bloomberg revealed that President Trump will sign an executive action directing federal bank regulators to pinpoint and penalize financial entities engaged in debanking.
The order will reportedly obligate regulators to review complaint data, while banks regulated by the Small Business Administration must strive to reinstate clients who were unjustly denied services.
Konanykhin voiced optimism that President Donald Trump’s proposed executive order to combat debanking might offer relief. “The President is familiar with the struggles of debanking personally and appears committed to halting this form of economic warfare against American enterprises,” he stated.
He mentioned that terminating debanking could enable US crypto to reclaim global supremacy. “Eliminating the War on Crypto will elevate the American crypto industry. It might achieve the same international significance as Hollywood does in entertainment or Silicon Valley in IT,” he emphasized.
Related: Trump to prompt an investigation into crypto and political debanking allegations: WSJ
Crypto reform depends on final phrasing of regulations
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Blickley, a partner at Fox Rothschild’s Tax Controversy & Litigation Practice, remarked that while Trump has directed agencies and Congress to evaluate how crypto can be assimilated into mainstream finance, significant change will hinge on the final wording of regulations and laws.
She referenced the recently enacted Genius Act, which offers the Federal Reserve’s Stablecoin Certification Review Committee 180 days to develop a regulatory framework.
Blickley cautioned that most bills in Congress seldom progress out of committee and that any forthcoming legislation will likely encounter litigation from both sides of the regulatory spectrum. “A regulation may superficially comply with the President’s request or a law enacted, yet have minimal application or disproportionate effects based solely on word choice,” she explained.
At present, Blickley noted, banks are likely to maintain their risk-averse stance towards crypto until new regulations explicitly diminish perceived risks. “It revolves around making risk-averse entities and individuals feel that crypto poses less of a risk,” she concluded.
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